Customer Reviews

Maurice Sendak's Really Rosie Audio

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've always had fond memories of the music from this animated tv special. It first showed when I was about 13 and was geared toward younger children, but my mother and I immediately fell in love with Rosie as brought to life by Carole King. The songs have been on my mind ever since, but it never occurred to me to look for the soundtrack. By chance, I found it yesterday in an educational supplies store and bought it immediately for my daughter, Samantha. Samantha has always reminded me of Rosie because of her outgoing, flamboyant and theatrical personality. When we listened to it together, the words, music and memories came flooding back and overwhelmed me. It is all I remember and more. Samantha and I both have the same favorites, "Pierre" and "Chicken Soup With Rice." I told Mom about finding it and she can't wait to come over and listem with Samantha and me. Any child and parent will immediately fall in love with the catchy, easy to remember songs in this collection. Now if I can only find the video.

The only album during Carole King's "Golden Years" which did not earn her a gold record. "Really Rosie" quickly became a classic though for children and adults alike...and remains so even 25 years later. The soundtrack for a 30-minute TV special with animation and lyrics by Maurice Sendak, the album contains all of the original music plus four extra tracks which did not appear in the TV program.

The tunes on "Really Rosie" are not only positively joyous and highly infectious, but they allow King to do things with arrangements and vocals which you would not ordinarily hear in her other music. It is constantly full of wonderful surprises. Each song weaves into the next with King's two-fisted piano style in firm control.

Best tracks? Impossible to choose. Certainly all of the tracks used for the TV special are among the best. Two songs "Pierre" (the story of a boy who didn't care) and "Chicken Soup with Rice" stand out as two of the most inventive melodies King has ever written.

Just listen and laugh and cry...and listen to it all over again! Some of us have been doing it for 25 years!

I was 10 years old when this short television film was released and I received the soundtrack album as a gift. To this day I can still sing along to every song and the effect it has on me is similar to a carefree walk in the park on a summer afternoon. There is pure pleasure in these lyrics and the happy tunes of Ms. Carole King. I bought this for my own children today because I hope they will enjoy it as much as my sister and I did and also because it's such fun singing along with them! Special favorites: Alligators All Around helps kids learn the alphabet, Chicken Soup With Rice will teach them months and season, and Pierre imparts a lesson on attitude. This is simply a wonderful soundtrack, don't delay - share it with your kids today!

The last reviewer said that this was not from the Carole King TV special. The CD version definitely IS. Maybe the cassette they sent is different. The CD is the original soundtrack album, available from Ode/Epic/Legacy. Carole King wrote an excellent, toe-tapping score for Maurice Sendak's wonderfully offbeat poems! For instance: "Chicken Soup With Rice" is a bona-fide classic which you will be humming for days ("Sipping once, sipping twice, sipping chicken soup with rice"). "Pierre" is a funny morality tale about a boy who only says "I Don't Care" until his apathy gets him eaten by a lion! "Alligators All Around" is a funny alphabet song; "One Was Johnny" does the same for numbers. This album is not strictly for kids -- it is fun for kids and adults alike, especially if you grew up with these songs!

For some reason, Pierre's "I don't care" voice is different on this album from the one on the TV special -- I think it might be that of Carole King herself. I don't remember if any other voices were changed. However, Ms. King is accompanied by a juvenile chorus on "Really Rosie." "Chicken Soup with Rice" and others, just like on the special.

I wish they would re-release the TV cartoon special on VHS or DVD; it was really well-done, with Maurice Sendak's renditions coming to life! And some of the Amazon reviews said there was a live cast album out a few years ago, which I would LOVE to get! I just saw a local performance of the musical -- it was wonderful and I recommend that you go to see it if it plays in your area! Maurice Sendak's dialogue is every bit as funny and quirky as the songs on this album!

Like some of the other reviews seen here, I will be 30 soon, and my parents were soo hip...my dad a jazz musician and my mom loved his taste in music. Really Rosie..was like the first cool pop album. I also remember all the words. I bought the CD the other day and I was in tears by Avenue P (my fave) and my husband was like OH man jules", but he doesn't know how fabulous the album is. The songs (Maurice) and the music (Carol King). By the end of the CD, he was hooked, and I promise anyone who buys it, will be. I am soooo happy it's back! What a blessing.

Jules Cohen (lead singer of Spiritease)

Spiritease@go.com

I was nine years old when my mom gave my sister and me a recording of Really Rosie... and we LOVED it! We memorized every line of the entire show, and acted out all the songs. For about two years I wanted to BE Rosie. I still get a kick out of this album: the story is funny, the actors are great, and the songs are lively and fun. I highly recommend it to kids of all ages.

I saw the original broadcast of this when I was only 6 years old.

My parents bought me the album - and I listened to it, until it just completely wore out.

We bought a Maurice Sendek video over the weekend...I cried when I realized how many songs I remembered. Went looking for this - it's been a quest for 4 years to find the CD...WOW.

I'm tickled ROSIE!!!!!!!!

I can't tell you how happy I am to finally find this childhood favorite of mine and my sisters. The first time we watched Really Rosie I was 6 and my sisters were 4 and 2. We listened to the soundtrack constantly.

I now have a 6 year old daughter named Rosie and I have been looking for this soundtrack since I became pregnant with her. I have tried for years to find this soundtrack or even the book by Maurice Sendak with no luck.

My sisters have both just given birth and I can't think of a better baby gift that would have the same sentimental value. Thank you so much for making it possible to share this favorite of ours with our children.

When I was a kid I had this album. I found it again on cassette probably 15 years ago now. It's finally available on CD and I can't wait to get my hands on it. The music is perfect for kids but mature enough that adults enjoy it too. I can listen to these songs over and over again and I still love it.

As a First Grade teacher, Really Rosie is a musical staple in my classroom. The CD player clicks on, the kids hush, and then they sing and glide along. "Pierre" is a big hit always. It's a wonderful experience for us all. For several years, as my students say good bye in June, I have given each child a Really Rosie tape as a great memory of our year together. . . . They often return to me telling me how they taught the songs to their parents.